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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Todays Feature playwright, poet Vanessa Richardson

Vanessa, remember you have Endometriosis.” Those
words swirled around in my head but my mind refused to process the meaning
behind them. My Doctor's eyes compassionately swept over my face, settling on
my eyes, he patiently waited for his word to sink in; unfortunately they wouldn’t.
Firstly, I didn’t know what Endometriosis was, and if he had explained it to me
during the process of my treatment, it went unnoticed. Secondly, I was battling
Catamenial Pneumothorax at the time, this is when a woman has her menses and
within 24-48 hours her lung collapses. By this time, I'd underwent major lung
surgery and had a total of ten chest tubes, so Endometriosis was the last
thing; I was thinking about.

I recall one fateful night, being forcefully awakened by severe pain in my
abdomen and lower back. Try as I might, I just could not go back to sleep; as I
couldn’t escape the severity of that continued sharp pain. This would go on for
months, the pain was blinding and crippling, often leaving me bedridden for
days. It seemed to me my life was a constant battle to live (not exist) and be
happy in life. My battle was against my own body and mind. Yet, I was
determined to win.

“I do?” I asked my Doctor. I barely recognized my voice, it was weak with pain
and disappointments. My Doctor nodded his head. “Yes, you do. You have had to
be one of my most difficult cases treated. I've removed an incredible amount of
Endometriosis from inside of you. Remember you also have it on your lung. These
tissues may have escaped to other areas of your body. Doing more surgery runs
the risk of causing more damage than good.” Those were not the words I wanted
to hear. I wanted to be fixed, to be made whole again. I left My Doctor’s
office burden with despair. I was silent and reflective during my ride home.
The world seemed a different place to me. In the matter of minutes I had been
changed inside forever.

There was a gamut of emotions swamping me. Anger
was in the lead, I am not perfect by any means, but, I’ve always been mindful
of my deeds and actions. I respected myself and others. I believed in God and
attended church faithfully. Yet, I was living a life of daily chronic pain.
There was no cure for me. Those words became a song in my head, it played on
repeat. “There’s no cure for me.” I looked up at noticed the Sun was still
shining, and almost became angry. I looked around and the world was still going
on, oblivious to my struggle. How dare the world still move forward, and my
world had just been turned upside down!

I made a decision that day. I decided I would not let this situation defeat me.
I was too young to carry this cross for the rest of my life. I went home and
began to research what Endometriosis was. I was Trojan; I studied and applied
what I learned to my daily living. Sometimes it can take up to 10-12 years for a
patient to be diagnosed with Endometriosis.

Approximately 176 million women and girls worldwide suffer from Endometriosis;
8.5 million in North America. I’d also learned how to eat all over again. I had
to cut out red meats, I’ve gotten rid of dairy products, and I’d removed wheat
products out of my diet as well. I started eating healthily, one of the best decisions I've ever made. I removed myself as
best as I could from stressful situations, as this could exacerbate pain
levels. I began to do meditations. I began to come to grip with the fact that,
I could live in spite of my situation. I just had to readjust. I also made it
an issue to not remain silent anymore. Respectively, talking about something as
private as your cycle can be quite awkward, but this slight discomfort is all
worth it; if I can inform and enlighten people about Endometriosis. I don’t
want anyone to suffer needlessly for years, because of the lack of information. So, I
continue to lift my voice, sharing my testimony, enlightening people about
Endometriosis -and I continue to keep the faith, because Endometriosis doesn’t
have me.

About the Author

Vanessa Richardson is an author, poet, and playwright. She has
written several stage productions and have been blessed to perform them
at various venues. Her stage productions include: Someone To Love Me,
Why Do Bad Things Happens To Good People? Lord, I Don't Understand, and
The Fullness Of Time.Vanessa wrote her freshman Nonfiction
inspirational novel titled, The Certain Ones. A spiritual impacting
novel that inspires her readers to know that not everyone are called
into greatness. Fact: Many can not handle the process that goes along
with becoming great. Only the certain ones, who endures; can obtain
destined greatness.
Vanessa also host the blogtalkradio show The Certain Ones. In addition,
she has created a magazine that it full of purpose. Vanessa is currently
working on her fiction novel titled, Love Lifted Me.